Anti-static medicated animal feedstuffs



-st tcntO" Charles N. Hotchkiss,,Park Ridge, and Irving Klothen,Paramus, NJ., and John Charles Callahan, Blauvelt, N.Y., assignors toAmerican Cyanamid Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maine I NoDrawing. Application December 2, 1953 Serial No. 395,842

8 claims. Cl. 167-53) invention relates to a finely divided medicamentfor use in an animal feed, an animal feed containing the medicament, anda method of preparation.

Feedstufis for members of the animal kingdom including. chickens,turkeys, sheep, cattle, etc, have become important commercial items. Inpreparing such feedstulfs, as for example, a poultry feed, 'it isfrequently customary to include various medicaments for the preventionor control of disease, or to increase the rate of growth. Suchmedicaments are frequentlyused in very small quantifies.

In some instances these medicaments can be toxic if administered in toolarge a quantity and invariably are not sufficiently potent ifadministered intoo small a quantity. The uniform blending of themedicaments into the feedstuifcan be a very troublesome problem,particularly if a small quantity of a finely divided material is to beadded.

Medicaments such as m,m'dinitrodiphenyldisulphide, sulfa-quinoxaline,other sulfa compounds, 3-nit-ro-4-hydroxy-arsanilic acid,S-nitrofurfural semica-rbazone, riboflavin, and antibiotics such aspenicillin, and chlortetra- 'cycline, are frequently fed. These areadministered in a subdivided state. The more finely divided thematerials, the more subject they are to maintaining an electrostaticcharge Which renders uniform blending difficult, if not impossible. Inblending fcedstuils it is customary to use mechanical equipment,including conveyors, Weighing tanks, blending drums, centrifugalblenders, and mixers. With finely divided materials which are subject toan electro-static charge there is a tendency for the finely dividedparticles to agglomerate in the equipment. At certain times an undulylow concentration is obtained because the fine material sticks in theequipment. At the end of a run, or some other time, .an agglomerate isreleased, and a portion of a batch may be obtained with an undesirablyhigh proportion of the medicament.

For proper therapeutic administration it is necessary that the blendingbeuniformf In many instances a premix is formed by blending themedicament Withjone or more constituents to form a diluent blend whichisthen added to the remaining feedstuifs. .For example, man'-dinitrodiphenyldisulphide is mixed with a nutrient blendin; materialsuch as soybean meal to give a premix which is easier to handle than theconcentrated medicament itself and which blends more uniformly.Indispersing extremely small quantities of such a material it isfrequently customary to blend the medicament with a diluent and thenblend the diluted medicament with the final feedstulf constituents sothat the amount of mixing of the final product is reduced. t

The cost of mixing, conveying, and blending, is an appreciable part ofthe cost of the feedstuffs and by using a medicament whichublends. morerapidly and uniformly, production costs are reduced.

The ease of blending is markedly increased by coating the individualparticles of the medicament in their r 2,890,980 Patented June 16, 1959subdivided state with a non-toxic, water-soluble, surfaceactive materialpossessing humectant and antistatic properties. Such materials includeD-sorbitol, polyoxyethylene tall oil ethanolamide, polyhydric alcoholesters of long chain fatty acids and their polyoxyethylene additionproducts, stearamido propyl dimethyl beta-hydroxyethyl ammoniumchloride, polyoxyethylene para-tertiaryoctylphenol, polyoxyethylene talloil, cetyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, guanidine soaps, such asguanidine laurate, polyhydric alcohols such as glycerin, and cholinechloride.

These materials are frequently most conveniently utilized in an aqueoussolution and may be applied to either the medicament itself or to ablend containing the medicament. From 0.5% to 2% by weight, of solids,

, based on the weight of the medicament or blend to which added, is thepreferred concentration. Some of these materials, particularlyD-sorbitol and choline chloride, are useful nutrients in their ownright. As will be seen, the suitable materials include a large class ofsurfaceacting agents, including non-ionic, anionic and cationicsurface-active agents. For use in feedstuffs the materials must benon-toxic. It is preferred to use those which are nutrients in their ownright. D-sorbitol is particularly useful because it is readilyobtainable commerically at a very loW price and is easy and convenientto use. It is preferred to apply the material in an aqueous solution, assolvents, raise problems of explosion hazards and expense, althoughunder carefully controlled conditions with due regard for these factors,the materials may be applied in non-aqueous solutions. Preferably, theantistatic and humectant material is a liquid or hygroscopic, as, undersuch conditions, it is more easy to blend with the feedstufi, andgenerally most efiective.

From about 0.5% to 2% of the humectant and antistatic material on thesurface of the medicament, or material to Which added, is generallysufiicient to prevent static charges accumulating. It is preferred toadd the material to the medicament only, as when the humectant andantistatic material is added to a partially mixed premix, largerquantities are required to additionally coat the other materials whichare present.

The more finely divided the medicaments, the more apt they are to besusceptible to electrostatic charges, and the purer the materials themore apt they are to be the subject of electrostatic charges. In thesubsieve sizes, i.e., those which pass a 360 mesh screen andparticularly those in which the size is predominately below microns, theelectrostatic charges present a problem.

A glass container of the finely divided medicament may be shaken and byobservation it can be seen that the medicament will adhere to thecontainer. A clean, steel spatula can be placed into the material andthe static charge will cause the material to adhere to the spatula.Various commercial devices such as the Baldwin-D-unlop Statigun may beused to detect and measure the electrostatic charge.

After blending with the humectant and antistatic material the same testwill show the medicament to be entirely free from such charges or topossess such charges to a markedly reduced extent. Additionally,antistatic material coated medicaments are frequently less corrosivethan the untreated medicaments. In the ordinary feed mill the problem ofcorrosion can be quite troublesome, and it is far more economical to usenoncorrosive materials than to attempt to use corrosion'resistantmaterials of construction.

. Example 1 i I 3% by weight of a 50% solution of polyoxyethylene talloil ethanolamide in water were sprayed upon a 25% mixture ofm,mdinitrodipheny1disulphide with soy bean meal in a ribbon mixer.Within a few minutes the mix- Example 2 700' pounds ofm,m-'dinitrodiphenyldisulphide were placed in a ribbon type blender andthereto was added 16 pounds of a 50% aqueous D-sorbitol solution 'byspraying fromoverhead nozzles onto the agitated medicament. inapproximately 20 minutes the mixture appeared to be homogeneous anduniformly blendedand free from static charges. The coatedm,mdinitrodiphenyldisulphide was placediin a cone blender with 1,900pounds of soy bean meal and found to rapidly and uniformly mix, therebygiving a 25% premix of the m,mdinitrodipheny'ldisulphide ready forblending into animal feeds. Characteristics of a poultry feed containingm,m'dinitrodiphenyldisulphide are described and claimed in US. Patent2,510,486, to Emanuel Waletzky, entitled Composition for the Control ofCoccidiosis.

Example 3 A cone blender had fitted therein a spray nozzle about 6 fromthe top opening and along the center line of the blender. Into the conemixer was added, in alternate portions, 650 pounds ofm,mdinitrodiphenyldisulphide and 1,850 pounds of soy bean meal. Duringthe loading process 57 pounds of a 50% aqueous solution of D-sorbitolwas sprayed into the nozzle. The nozzle was removed, the blender closed,and rotated for 30 minutes. 'It was opened and a uniform dry blendobtained which could be placed in a glass jar and shaken. The mix didnot adhere to the glass jar, nor did it adhere to a steel spatula placedtherein.

A similar mixture was prepared without D-sorbitol. When placed in aglass jar and shaken it was found to adhere to the glass surface andalso to adhere to the surface of a steel spatula.

Example 4 700 pounds of coarse sulfaquinoxaline were placed in ahammermill, and the mill operated to grind it. As it was being ground,14 pounds of a 50% aqueous D-sorbitol solution was sprayed thereonto. Acoated micron ized powder resulted. The ground, coated sulfaquinoxalinewas then placed in a cone blender with 1,900 pounds of soy bean meal,tumbled for 10 minutes, and the mixture run through acentrifugal'blender to form a homogeneouspremix.

The exact proportions of the humectant and antistatic material, theblending ratios, and the order of operation may vary over widelimitation, depending upon the equipment and the state of subdivision ofthe medicament being used in a particular plant. Such variations will beobvious to those skilled in the feed mixing industry.

We claim:

1. A medicated animal feedstuff comprising particles of an animal feedin uniform mixture with particles of a finely divided medicament, saidparticles of medicament having a particle size which will pass through a360 mesh screen and being capable of retaining an electrostatic charge,said particles having a thin coating of a non-toxic, water soluble,surface active material possessing humectant and anti-static properties,dispersed as a thin coating on the surface of said particles whereby thedevelopment of electrostatic charges on said medicament particles andagglomeration thereof due to said electrostatic charges is avoided.

2. A medicated animal feedstuif comprising particles of an animal feedin uniform mixture with particles of r 4 a finely divided medicament,said particles of medicament having a particle size which will passthrough a 360 mesh screen and being capable of retaining anelectrostatic charge, said particles having a thin coating of 0.5% to2.0% of a non-toxic, water soluble, surface active material possessinghumectant and antistatic properties dispersed as a thin coating on thesurface of said particles whereby the development of electrostaticcharges on said medicament particles'and agglomeration thereof due tosaid electrostatic charges is avoided.

3. A medicated animal feedstuff comprising particles of an animal feedin uniform.mixture with particles of a finely divided medicamenhsaidparticles of medicament having a particle size which will pass through a360 mesh screen and being capable of retaining an electrostatic charge,said particles having a thin coating of a non-toxic, water soluble,surface active material possessing humectant .and anti-static propertiesselected from the group consisting of D-sorbitol, polyoxyethylene talloil ethanolamide, polyhydrice alcohol esters of long chain fatty acidsand their polyoxyethylene addition products, stearamido propyl dimethylbeta-hydroxyethyl ammonium chloride, polyoxyethylenepara-tertiary-octylphenol, polyoxyethylene tall oil cetyl dimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride, guanidine soaps and choline chloride.

4. A medicated animal feedstutf comprising particles of an animal feedin uniform mixture with particles of a finely divided medicamentselected from the group consisting of m,m'-dinitrodiphenyldisulphide,sulfaquinoxaline, 3-nitro-4-hydroxyarsani1ic acid, 5-nitrofura1semicarbazone, penicillin, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline andtetracycline, said particles of medicament having a particle size whichwill pass through a 360 mesh screen and being capable of retaining anelectrostatic charge, saidparticles having a thin coating of anon-toxic, water soluble, surface active material possessing humectantand anti-static properties dispersed as a thin coating on the surface ofsaid particles whereby the development of electrostatic charges on saidmedicament particles and agglomeration thereof due to said electrostaticcharges is avoided.

5. A medicated animal feedstuif according to claim 1 in which themedicament is m,m'-dinitrodiphenyldisulphide.

6. A medicated animal foodstuff according to claim 5 in which thenon-toxic, water soluble, surface active material is D-sorbitol.

7. A medicated animal feedstufi according to claim 1 in which thenon-toxic, water soluble, surface active material is polyoxyethylenetall oil ethanolamide.

8. A medicated animal feedstuif according to claim 1 in which themedicament is sulfaquinoxaline.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,455,054 Geiger et a1 Nov. 30, 1948 2,495,270 Littler Jan. 24, 19502,540,131 Littler Feb. 6, 1951 2,547,144 Whiting Apr. 3, 1951 2,696,455Blair Dec. 7, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 655,519 Great Britain July 25, .1951

OTHER REFERENCES Romoser: Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. and Med., vol. 83, May1953, pp. 17-21.

Siedler: Poultry Science, vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 449453.

Atlas Surface Active Agents, 1948, pp. 67 and 69.

Stern et al.: Poultry Science, vol. 32, No. 1, pp. -26-'-28.

1. A MEDICATED ANIMAL FEEDSTUFF COMPRISING PARTICLES OF AN ANIMAL FEEDIN UNIFORM MIXTURE WITH PARTICLES OF A FINELY DIVIDED MEDICAMENT, SAIDPARTICLES OF MEDICAMENT HAVING A PARTICLE SIZE WHICH WILL PASS THROUGH A360 MESH SCREEN AND BEING CAPABLE OF RETAINING AN ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE,SAID PARTICLES HAVING A THIN COATING OF A NON-TOXIC, WATER SOLUBLE,SURFACE ACTIVE MATERIAL POSSESSING HUMECTANT AND ANTI-STATIC PROPERTIES,DISPERSED AS A THIN COATING ON THE SURFACE OF SAID PARTICLES WHEREBY THEDEVELOPMENT OF ELECTROSTATIC CHARGES ON SAID MEDICAMENT PARTICLES ANDAGGLOMERATION THEREOF DUE TO SAID ELECTROSTATIC CHARGES IS AVOIDED.